- English translation
He kills the man and then walks in his funeral procession.
- Literal wording
He kills the slain one and walks in his funeral.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying sketches a person who carries out a killing and then walks along in the victim's funeral procession. That jarring pairing of deed and calm presence serves as a measure of cunning pushed to an exceptional, even startling, extreme.
As applied, the proverb singles out an individual whose craftiness seems to have no ceiling. Its force lies in the boldness of the picture: one figure occupies both ends of the event, a sign of shrewdness that leaves observers astonished.
- When it is used
Reserve it for someone whose shrewdness strikes the speaker as extraordinary, almost beyond belief. The killing and funeral are figurative, not a literal accusation of murder, yet the image makes the remark stark and pointed rather than a mild compliment on intelligence.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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